Troubles: Punch Taverns has been in dire financial straits in recent years

Hundreds of small shareholders including employees and former staff as well as directors at Punch Taverns will see the value of their stock crash by 85 per cent within weeks as the beleaguered company undergoes a massive financial restructuring.

They have been forced to accept a deal in which their shareholding will shrink from 100 per cent of the company to just 15 per cent.

The many lenders to the company – Britain’s second largest pub firm – take the lion’s share in a debt-for-equity swap.

Employees in Punch Taverns and its managed pub company division Spirit have long been encouraged to invest in its employee share schemes.